Feedback - Elle, Business - UTS
March 22, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
Hi Virginia,
I am very well thank-you.
I am really enjoying my position at Simplot. I have found the training very comprehensive, well structured and have much enjoyed learning all the different aspects of my role so far. I have been out in the field the entire time and have spent training days in various regions including that of the territory I will be taking over.
I feel the company has provided me with an excellent induction and given me the opportunity to integrate and learn so that I am confident to progress in my role and seek all the opportunities that the position offers.
I really enjoy being in the field and meeting people and have also learnt a great deal about the industry as well as the products, lines and position of them within the market place.
I am very grateful to you for seeking out this position for me as I am very happy in my role. Simplot is a fantastic company from what I have experienced. My colleagues are very supportive and are a great team to work with and I hope to progress my career with them in the future.
Kind regards,
Elle
Feedback - Jamil, Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Media Arts and Production)
March 18, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
Hi Virginia,
Sorry for the late response, I’ve been away to Melbourne with work and arrived last night (Wednesday). As you may or may not know, my role is specifically a lead generation role to help generate leads for the Victorian and S.A. markets. Before this trip, I was a bit confused as to my part in the whole puzzle, but things have been greatly clarified now and I look forward to working closely with the Melbourne team.
Also, my fellow colleagues are great to work with and very supportive, with a lot of fun being had as well as hard work of course. It has been very much been a hit the ground running one, however as time goes on, the product range, our marketing and selling tactics and such are becoming much more clearer.
Thanks for your email, and thanks again for your work in securing this role. It is greatly appreciated!
Regards
Jamil - Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Media Arts and Production)
GRADUATE SALES AND MARKETING POSITION
March 18, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
- Great CBD location
- Great verbal communication skills needed
- Multiple positions available
Prograd is Australia’s leading assessment, training and placement organisation, working with recent University graduates and assisting them to secure roles within the corporate sales divisions of leading organisations.
A diverse range of positions are currently available for any graduate with an interest in the business to business sales and marketing sector. Available positions include:
• Graduate Sales Executive
• Graduate Sales & Marketing Consultant (National & Multinational Companies)
• Graduate Marketing Assistant
• Lead Generation/ Marketing position
• Client Services Representative
• Graduate Online Sales ExecutiveProGrad work with over 600 organisations across Australia, including Sage, Microsoft, Dell, Fairfax and News. If you are looking for an entry-level opportunity within a corporation, please calle the ProGrad office and ask to speak to a Graduate Manager.
Feedback - Elizabeth, Perth
March 17, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
“My first few weeks have certainly been interesting. Sydney was quite an information overload, though highly enjoyable. For the next 5 months I have been placed in the “second” office in Perth – which focuses on Local Government Risk Services. I spent the first week meeting colleagues and familiarising myself with Company information, and now have begun my first rotation with the Broking department, where I will be for a month, I believe”
“I have basically been handed over the ‘Marketing Portfolio’ for this branch, due to my Marketing background. This is great, as it is not a full-time job within this organisation, and can fit this in with the other work that I am doing. We are about to begin our Diploma of Finance, also.”
“Hope that all is well on the other side of the country and that you enjoy your week.”
Elizabeth - Perth
FANTASTIC GRADUATE FMCG POSITION
March 9, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
- Great CBD Location
- Excellent incentives and bonuses
- Immediate start!
This is a great opportunity for a graduate to expand in the business world and work within a respectable FMCG company.
Our client offers valuable progression within the company and you have the chance to move up into the desired role of Account Manager / Territory Manager.
The primary responsibilities of the role are:
• Sales Reporting Process
• Internal Account Management
• Upselling / Cross Selling
• Sales Administration
• Presentations
• Weekly Communication of Pricing & Promotional Program to customers & internal departments
• Weekly facilitation of communication and response of weekly customer complaints
• Weekly administration of customer claims / accruals / credits
• Preparation of business manager / account manager presentations to customers
• Collection of sales and market share report dataIf you are confident, ambitious, driven and have a hunger to succeed in business, then don’t miss this opportunity and apply now!
If you are interested in this role, please contact the ProGrad and ask to think to a Graduate Manager.
*To be eligible for this position, you must have completed your degree*
Preparing for Interviews
March 5, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
“If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.”
Preparation is an interesting test, and not to be overlooked in an interview process. Poorly prepared candidates are unimpressive to employers!
If you’re a technology-savvy individual, you should be using online sites such as www.linkedin.com to build an online presence as an individual yet also to assist in preparation prior to interviews. It is a business networking tool which can be very helpful prior to interviews for researching.
We always recommend that graduates are reading business publications as much as possible in order to gain some base understanding about the business arena and what is happening within certain industries. BRW Magazine is a great, easy read and perfect for any recent graduate to gain some commercial insight.
Prior to an interview, it is natural that you will look on a company website and conduct some basic Google searches. Please don’t stop there. Think about what you’re doing with that information. Don’t simply assume that in reading it, you are absorbing it. Write notes about the business, the market, any competitors, the clients and any key personnel you can find. Please make notes and ensure they are with you in the face to face interview.
Outside of internet searching, we would also suggest that you contact the office directly and ask some questions on the telephone. You will not only gain extra information, but you will also be making a good first impression with some of the employees.
Many graduates fail to demonstrate their research skills in an interview, and rely on their natural charm to carry them through. Whilst this is sometimes successful, it is far safer for candidates to do their research and take preparation with them to an interview. Document your findings and be prepared to discuss your research.
ProGrad is a specialist graduate recruitment company working with over 600 companies across Australia. For more information about our process, please contact our ProGrad Graduate Management Team on 02 8235 8300.
The lost art of communication
December 18, 2009 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
I have just posted a few words for job seekers, which got me thinking about the heavy reliance of graduates on the internet, particularly as a mechanism to find jobs. Actually, that part isn’t the problem - I agree that Seek, MyCareer etc are a great way to search for jobs and start the application process. It’s what happens after that which I find strange.
The job boards have created a lazy approach to job seeking. Click, click, click, browse, attach, click, click.
And then….wait. And Wait. Still waiting..
Perhaps you’ll receive a call back, perhaps you won’t. By the time you do get the phone call, surely you’ve forgotten which job you applied for. Thats because there is a backlog of other lazy job seeker’s applications to get through.
Many moons ago, we didn’t have the internet. I know, hard to imagine, isn’t it? When we didn’t have the internet, we contacted eachother on the telephone and had conversations with humans and we spoke clearly about our intentions. This is the piece that has now been lost.
If you’re a job seeker looking to stand out from the crowd (and the other lazy job seekers in the market) then take a different approach. By all means, start with the internet. But don’t just leave it there and expect the internet to manage the process on your behalf. Somewhere in the process, is a human (for now, anyway). Ever thought about calling the human? Might be worth a shot. Call them up directly, tell them you’ve applied for a role and you’d like to know what the next step is.
It’s really not that difficult, is it? Give it a try…you never know, someone might actually call you back!
ProGrad in 2009, the year that was
December 18, 2009 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
2009 was an interesting year for many. Whether you were a job seeker, looking for a job opportunity over the last 12 months, or an organisation facing the constraints of a “tight market” and even tighter budgets from prospects. We all felt it.
In January 2009, ProGrad started to analyse the roles available for graduates and started to analyse our sales history in more detail. ProGrad are a sales led business and we are heavily focused in sales activities such as lead generation, cold calling, booking business meetings and proactively selling our unique concept. Whilst this has always been the most effective way to sell our model, it started to come with some challenges.
Companies were not quick to make decisions any more when it came to recruiting graduates. Every business had to start justifying the expense in recruiting. As more and more businesses were cutting costs, and making some difficult decisions around redundancies, ProGrad had to ensure we had a clear sales strategy to ensure our placements could continue.
When we were analysing our previous sales conversions, we noticed that they had started to dip. In order to maintain the same level of placements, we would have to up the activity enormously. This meant increased activity from the sales team, an increase in targets and a greater sales push than ever before to ensure that we could complete placements.
In May 2009, we started our new agressive sales campaign and started to see results in August and September. The campaign has not dipped off since, which has ensured a huge spike in graduate placements in November and December 2009. The prospects for January 2010 are looking fantastic for graduates. Whilst it is clear that “confidence is returning” in the market, it is without a doubt down to the tenacity and perseverance of our team of sales people that has ensured our strength in this competitive arena.
It’s also important that we acknowledge the support of our candidates and clients over 2009. A large majority of our business this year came from our established account base which remained loyal to us. We are hugely grateful for those relationships and hope they will continue in the forthcoming years.
On behalf of everyone in the team, thank you!
Davinia
Last Melbourne Assessment Day in 2009
December 14, 2009 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
ProGrad will be once again in Melbourne tomorrow, Tuesday 15th December 2009 for our last Melbourne assessment day this year.
In 2009, we have run over 100 Assessment days in Australia and this day will conclude the Victoria assessments for recent graduates.
2009 has been a difficult year to predict for graduate vacancies, however we are confident that moving forward in 2010 we will see a definite increase in the need for graduates for B2B sales and marketing roles.
We have over 12 clients attending the Melbourne assessment day tomorrow and we’re looking forward to seeing the outcome. Melbourne has historically been a great location for graduates, who continue to impress the assessment team with their excellent attitude and strong presentation ability.
For any candidates that have not yet confirmed their attendance tomorrow, please do so at your earliest convenience by contacting ProGrad on 02 8235 8300. We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!
From everyone at Prograd!
ProGrad 2009 - 2010
December 14, 2009 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
ProGrad will be closed from December 24th until January 11th 2010.
During this period of time, most of us will be accessing emails and will be able to respond to any urgent enquiries. We will be fully operational again in the New Year and will be ready to hit the ground running from the 11th January onwards.
2009 has been a great year for ProGrad, despite the economic downturn. Like many businesses, we went through a tricky time of uncertainty and the difficulty with forecasting each month - however since September we have seen market confidence return with a huge increase of graduate placements completed.
The forecast for 2010 is strong with new business relationships being secured daily. We’re fortunate to have a number of excellent team members, mostly selected from the ProGrad assessment days. They’re passsionate about what we do and make a huge effort to meet with new businesses each day of the week. It is their dedication and excitement that ensures our ready stream of graduate vacancies.
ProGrad are expanding into the US market in early 2010 and are looking forward to working with our client partners there also. Whilst it is a difficult job market in the US, we’re confident that before long they will be converted to recruiting recent graduates!
And so, we will keep you posted over forthcoming months as we continue to grow and develop.
We hope you will continue to support us!
The ProGrad Team
ProGrad can be contacted on the office number 02 8235 8300 until 24th December. During the Christmas break, please feel free to email us info@prograd.com.au and we will aim to reach your enquiry as quickly as possible